Dr. Abdelaal obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering and his Master’s degree in Geotechnical Engineering at Ain Shams University in Egypt. His Master’s research involved the investigation of sand bentonite mixtures as a low hydraulic conductivity barrier soil for municipal solid waste landfill liners as an alternative to traditional clayey soil liners only available on the banks of the river Nile and used for agricultural purposes.

Dr. Abdelaal travelled to Canada in 2008 to start his Doctoral research at Queen’s University under the supervision of Dr. R. Kerry Rowe and Dr. Richard Brachman. His Doctoral research involved investigating the chemical durability of plastic (polyethylene geomembrane) liners as part of the composite liner system for municipal solid waste landfills. This research focused on the key factors influencing the degradation of geomembrane liners. His research also included large scale testing of the composite liner under field exposure conditions to investigate the susceptibility of geomembranes to stress cracking.

After obtaining his Doctoral degree in 2013, Dr. Abdelaal worked as a post-doctoral fellow with Dr. R Kerry Rowe at Queen’s University, to investigate the durability of geomembrane liners for use in other emerging areas in the field of geoenvironmental engineering. These applications included low level radioactive waste containment facilities, potable water reservoirs and mining applications (including heap leach pads, tailings storage facilities, and the Bayer process for Aluminum extraction).

Dr. Abdelaal moved back to Egypt in 2015 after his appointment as an Assistant Professor at Ain Shams University. In January 2017, he joined the Civil Engineering Department at Queen’s University as an Assistant Professor.

Abdelaal, F.B. and Rowe, R.K. (2014). Effect of chlorinated water on the antioxidant depletion of HDPE geomembrane without HALS. Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Geosynthetics, Berlin, September 2014 CD-ROM Paper #83, 7p.

Geosynthetics International Award for one of the best three papers published in the journal in 2015: Abdelaal, F. B., Rowe, R. K., Hsuan, Y. G. & Awad, R. (2015). Effect of high temperatures on the physical and mechanical properties of HDPE geomembranes in air. Geosynthetics International, 22, No. 3, 207-224.

2015

Geosynthetics International Award for one of the best three papers published in the journal in 2014: Abdelaal, F. B., Rowe, R. K., and Brachman, R. W. I. (2014a). Brittle rupture of an aged HDPE geomembrane at local gravel indentations under simulated field conditions. Geosynthetics International, 21(1): 1-23.